St Ninian and St Kentigern
The earliest known Scottish saint is St Ninian, or Bishop Ninian,
who
founded the first monastery in Scotland at Whithorn in the territory
of the
Britons around AD 500. Ninians life remains a mystery: judging
from his name
he was probably a Briton, and he seems to have been an
exponent of the Roman Church, perhaps after receiving
training in Rome, rather than the early Celtic Church
with its strong ties to Ireland. He was concerned with
the implementation of Christianity north of Hadrian's
Wall at a time when most of the Caledonian Tribes were
still pagan.

A carved oak figure of a bishop found near Whithorn
at Wigtownshire. The figure is thought to represent Saint Ninian,
who was a bishop during the late fifth century, although the figure
itself dates from the 14th century. One legend involving St Ninian
tells of him planting seeds which grew to fruition
within a few hours, thus relieving his monastery's food
shortages.

Following in Ninians footsteps was St Kentigern, or St Mungo,
as he is more familiarly known. Tradition has it that
Kentigern founded a monastery at Govan and another at
the site of Glasgow Cathedral, although this cannot be
proved historically.

Again little is securely known beyond the fact that he possibly founded
a bishopric for the Kings of Dumbarton and that he died in AD 612.
His second title, Mungo, means 'very dear one' in the language of
the Britons and the myths and tales surrounding him reveal a popularity
amongst the common people. In one such story a local king refuses
to pay his taxes to the Church, whereupon Kentigern curses him - inducing
the River Clyde to rise and sweep all the king's grain from his barns and carry
it to the saint's feet
St Mungo plays a large part in the early culture of Glasgow.
The city's cathedral (right) is named after him and held
his tomb until his relics were removed during the Middle
Ages.